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Information about Housatonic Railroad

Housatonic Railroad
Reporting marksHRRC, DTRR
Localesouthwestern New England
Dates of operation1840 –
Track gauge4 ft 8 in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
HeadquartersCanaan, CT


The Housatonic Railroad (AAR reporting marks HRRC) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and has since expanded north and south, as well as west into New York State.

The Housatonic Railroad was also a company chartered in 1836 and acquired by the New Haven in 1892. It followed much the same route as the current company, but did not run west into New York.

History

Regional railroad: 1836-1892

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled Housatonic Railroad (1836-1892). ()
Enlarge picture
Railroad tunnel which still exists, unused, in Newtown, Connecticut, as pictured in a postcard sent in 1905
The Housatonic Railroad, originally (mis)spelled as 'Ousatonic Railroad', was chartered in May 1836 to build a line from Bridgeport, Connecticut north to the Massachusetts state line, along the Housatonic River valley. On February 19, 1840, regular service began from Bridgeport to New Milford, and on December 1, 1842 it opened to the state line.

On the other side of the line, the Berkshire Railroad was incorporated April 13, 1837 to continue the line north to West Stockbridge, where it would connect to the West Stockbridge Railroad (see below) and the never-built Lee and Hudson Railroad. Construction began in February 1841, and it was completed on December 1, 1842, the same day the line in Connecticut opened. The Housatonic Railroad leased the Berkshire Railroad on January 1, 1843.

The West Stockbridge Railroad was chartered in 1831 and incorporated April 5, 1836 to run from West Stockbridge west to State Line, where it would continue to the Hudson River in New York State as the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad. The line opened on August 10, 1838. On February 6, 1844 the Berkshire Railroad (then leased to the Housatonic) leased the West Stockbridge and Hudson and Berkshire Railroads. On November 21, 1854 the Western Railroad bought the Hudson and Berkshire, which became a branch from the Western's line (later the Boston and Albany Railroad) from Chatham to Hudson, and was abandoned east of Hudson. The West Stockbridge Railroad stayed part of the Housatonic system.

The final section of main line was incorporated March 20, 1847 as the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad. This line split from the original main line at Van Deusenville in Great Barrington and ran east and north to Pittsfield. The full line opened on January 1, 1850 under operation of the Housatonic, and was formally leased January 25.

For a time the Housatonic operated the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad, running north from the Western Railroad east of Pittsfield to North Adams, but it was returned to the Boston and Albany Railroad, the successor to the Western, in the early 1870s.

The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad opened in 1852 from Danbury south to Norwalk. The New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad was chartered in 1863 to run from White Plains, New York northeast via Danbury to Brookfield, Connecticut on the Housatonic. It was only built north of Danbury, and on May 1, 1874 the Housatonic leased and opened it. On May 6, 1881 the Housatonic outright bought it, and on July 27, 1887 the Housatonic leased the Danbury and Norwalk, by then including branches to Ridgefield and Hawleyville (the latter on the Housatonic's main line) and a southern extension to Wilson Point.

In the meantime, the New Haven and Derby Railroad was chartered in 1864 to run from New Haven west to Derby, Connecticut and north to Ansonia, planned as part of the route over the never-built Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge. It opened in 1871. On November 14, 1888 a 3.79-mile (6.10 km) extension from Derby Junction to a point in Shelton was opened. The rest of the extension, 9.79 mi (15.76 km) from that point to the Housatonic Railroad at Botsford, was built by the Housatonic and opened on November 28. On July 9, 1889 the Housatonic leased the New Haven and Derby.

On July 1, 1892 the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Housatonic, forming the Berkshire Division.

New Haven's Berkshire Division: 1892-1969

By the end of the New Haven's life, the Housatonic's original main line had been abandoned south of Botsford, where the old New Haven branch ran only east to Derby. The main line was also gone between Brookfield and Hawleyville, with traffic using the branch to Danbury and old New York and New England Railroad. The Danbury and Norwalk was still in use, but most branches, including the original main line to State Line, Massachusetts, were gone.

On January 1, 1969 the New Haven was merged into Penn Central, which named the lines as follows:

Penn Central and Conrail: 1969-

The last passenger train ran over the route on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak took over Penn Central's passenger operations. By 1974 the middle section was abandoned, between Boardman Bridge in New Milford and Canaan, Connecticut, and was not made part of Conrail on April 1, 1976, instead being bought by the State of Connecticut. In 1982 the Boston and Maine Railroad bought the line north of Canaan, renaming it the Canaan Running Track. Conrail continued to operate the line south of New Milford, and the old Danbury and Norwalk Railroad was conveyed to the Metro-North Commuter Railroad on January 1, 1983, becoming their Danbury Branch.

New company: 1983-present

A new Housatonic Railroad was chartered in 1983 by John Hanlon, Jr. to lease 34 miles of the former line, from Boardman Bridge in New Milford north to Canaan, Connecticut, from the State of Connecticut. Excursion trains began operating between Canaan and just south of Cornwall Bridge (at Belsprings Siding) in November 1984. The rest of the line, south into New Milford, was made serviceable in 1989, giving the company two connections - the Boston and Maine Railroad (Guilford Rail System) in Canaan and Conrail in New Milford. In April the Housatonic began to serve Becton, Dickinson and Company, a plastics plant in Canaan, but almost immediately the line was severed at Falls Village by a washout, not repaired until 14 months later.

The Housatonic Transportation Company was incorporated in Delaware on January 2, 1991 as a holding company for the railroad's properties, including the newly-formed Danbury Terminal Railroad (AAR reporting marks DTRR) (an operating company) and Maybrook Properties (a land-owning company). That month the Housatonic bought the connecting Guilford trackage (Canaan Running Track) north to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where it obtained another interchange with Conrail.

In December 1992 the Danbury Terminal Railroad acquired trackage and rights belonging to Conrail in southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York. Maybrook Properties bought the former New Haven line (then the Danbury Secondary Track) from Beacon, New York (MP 0.0) east to Hopewell Junction (MP 12.8) (former Newburg, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad), Hopewell Junction (MP 42.9) east to Derby, Connecticut (MP 104.8) (former Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, Housatonic Railroad and branch to Derby). The Danbury Terminal operated this Maybrook Properties-owned trackage. The Danbury Terminal also obtained Conrail's former trackage rights to serve freight on the Metro-North Commuter Railroad's Harlem Line from White Plains (MP 22.0) to Dover Plains (MP 76.6), and north to Wassaic (MP 81.6) over trackage still owned by the New York and Harlem Railroad and leased to Conrail, crossing the east-west line at Dykemans. Finally, it obtained overhead trackage rights over Metro-North's Waterbury Branch from the east end of this line at Derby (MP 8.9) south to Devon, Connecticut (MP 0.0) (operated for freight by the Providence and Worcester Railroad). The Housatonic also acquired the final part of the main line, from New Milford south to the east-west line at Berkshire Junction near Danbury. With this acquisition, the Housatonic gained a much expanded system and several new customers. These new acquisitions were first operated January 2, 1993.

On December 31, 1996 the Danbury Terminal Railroad was merged into the Housatonic Railroad.

 •  • [ e]
Class III railroads of the United States
Current (operating)AA, ABCR, ABS, ACWR, ADBF, AF, AGCR, AGR, AKDN, ALAB, AL, AKMD, ALM, ALY, AM, AN, ANR, AO, AOK, APNC, ARS, ATLT, ATN, ATW, AUAR, AVR, AZER, BAYL, BB, BCR, BCLR, BDRV, BGCM, BHCR, BJRY, BLEX, BLOL, BRAN, BS, BSV, BT, BXN, CAGY, CBEC, CBGR, CCIM, CEDR, CFNR, CFER, CGR, CHAT, CHS, CIC, CIRR, CIRY, CLC, CLNA, COEH, CORP, CRL, CSOR, CTRR, CUOH, CVSR, CVYR, CWRY, CZRY, DAIR, DCON, DLWR, DMM, DMVW, DN, DQE, DR, DRHY, DRIR, DSRR, DVS, EACH, EARY, EDW, EIRR, ELKR, ELS, ETRY, EVWR, FCRD, FGLK, FGRS, FMRC, FP, FSR, FWRY, FWWR, GBRC, GC, GITM, GNWR, GSVR, GSWR, GWWE, HE, HMCR, HRRC, HRT, IANR, IATR, IMRR, IN, INRD, IORY, IR, ISRR, ISW, JEFW, JVRR, KCT, KBSR, KJRY, KRR, LAL, LIRC, LIRR, LCR, LDRR, LNW, LRPA, LRWN, LS, LSI, LXVR, LWRR, MB, MCR, MCRR, MCSA, MDS, MDW, ME, MET, MMID, MNA, MNN, MNNR, MPA, MPLI, MSRW, MSTR, MSWY, MTR, NBER, NCRC, NCVA, NECR, NENE, NHN, NPBL, NPR, NRI, NSSR, NYA, NYCH, NYSW, OTR, OHIC, OHPA, OHRY, OTVR, OUCH, PAM, PBL, PCN, PGR, PHL, PI, PNW, PNWR, POHC, POTB, PPU, PSAP, QRR, RBMN, RJCW, RPRC, RRCI, RRVW, RSOR, RSR, RSS, SAPT, SB, SCFE, SCXY, SDIY, SERA, SGLR, SJVR, SL, SLA, SMV, SQVR, TCBR, TCW, TMBL, TR, TRC, TRMW, TRRA, TTR, TZPR, UTAH, VR, VCRR, VSRR, VVRR, WGCR, WKRL, WLO, WN, WPRR, WSR, WTRY, WW, YKR, YRC
Historic (fallen flag) DAKR, DTRR, ESHR, NFD, PSR, TIRL, TXTC, WICT
[ edit ]
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad subsidiaries
New York and New Haven / Hartford and New Haven / Shore Line (1872) Harlem River (1873) - Air Line (1879) - Connecticut Valley (1882) - New Canaan (1884) - Naugatuck (1887) - New Haven and Northampton (1887) - New York, Providence and Boston (1892) - Housatonic (1892) - Providence and Worcester (1892) - Old Colony (1893) - New York and New England (1898) - Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern (1898) - Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River (1898) - Central New England (1904) - Newburg, Dutchess and Connecticut (1905) - Poughkeepsie and Eastern (1907) - New York Connecting (1917) - Union Freight

External links

References

reporting mark is an identification assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to rail carriers and other companies operating in North America.

Reporting mark standard practices


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New England

Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1837 1838 1839 - 1840 - 1841 1842 1843

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1 foot =
SI units
0 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
0 yd 0 in
A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′
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1 inch =
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010−3 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
010−3 ft 010−3 yd


An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes,  
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1 millimetre =
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US customary / Imperial units
010−3 ft 010−3 in
The millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm
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standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in), allowing inter-connectivity and the inter-operability of trains. Currently 60% of the world's railway lines are built to this gauge. It is also named Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson.
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Town of Canaan
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA None
Region Northwestern Connecticut
Incorporated 1739
Government
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reporting mark is an identification assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to rail carriers and other companies operating in North America.

Reporting mark standard practices


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Class III railroad, as defined by the American Association of Railroads, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $10 million (1978 dollars). The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries.
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New England

Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1980 1981 1982 - 1983 - 1984 1985 1986

Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII
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New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

Reporting marks NH
Locale New York, NY to Boston, MA
Dates of operation 1872 – 1969

Successor line Penn Central
Track gauge 4 ft 8 in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
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State of Connecticut

Flag of Connecticut Seal of Connecticut
Nickname(s): The Constitution State, The Nutmeg State[]
Motto(s): Qui transtulit sustinet[0]
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State of New York

Flag of New York Seal
Nickname(s): The Empire State
Motto(s): Excelsior!

Official language(s) None

Capital Albany
Largest city New York City

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1800s  1810s  1820s  - 1830s -  1840s  1850s  1860s
1833 1834 1835 - 1836 - 1837 1838 1839

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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1889 1890 1891 - 1892 - 1893 1894 1895

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1800s  1810s  1820s  - 1830s -  1840s  1850s  1860s
1833 1834 1835 - 1836 - 1837 1838 1839

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Bridgeport, Connecticut

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Park City.
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA Bridgeport-Stamford
Region
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Flag of Massachusetts Seal
''Nickname(s): Bay State State Bird = Black-capped Chickadee''
''Motto(s): Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (Latin: By the sword she seeks peace under liberty)''


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Housatonic River

Looking south down the Housatonic River towards the I-95 bridge in Milford, CT.


Country | USA
States | Connecticut,Massachusetts

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February 19 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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1837 1838 1839 - 1840 - 1841 1842 1843

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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New Milford, Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA Danbury
Region Housatonic Valley
Settled 1707
Incorporated 1712
Government
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December 1 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican.

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1839 1840 1841 - 1842 - 1843 1844 1845

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April 13 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

It is also the Ides (middle day) of April.

Events

  • 1055 - Victor II is consecrated pope.

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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1834 1835 1836 - 1837 - 1838 1839 1840

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West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Location in Berkshire County in Massachusetts
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Berkshire
Settled 1766
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